Just imagine…

You’ve heard about the blogging phenomena making the rounds lately.

And you’ve even though about setting up your own blog.

But perhaps the biggest question you’ve had so far is:

“What on earth shall I blog about?”

But don’t worry, you’re not alone.

And there’s some good news for you as well…

Not many people know what they want to blog about when they’re just getting started.

And that’s why Yaro Starak and Gideon Shalwick have just created a special X-Factor Strategy video that shows you how….

If you’re in any doubt as to what you should be blogging about, this X-Factor strategy video will get you off to a great start.

The video is an elaboration of one of the X-Factor strategies inside Yaro and Gideon’s report – The

Roadmap To Become A Blogger, which has already been downloaded 8,789 times in the last week!

It looks at a little-known feature of the social media giant Facebook, and shows you how to use it to your advantage and uncover multiple exploitable niche areas.

You can watch the whole video, without paying a cent or even giving away your details, over here:

X-Factor Facebook Video

Just go ahead and watch the video…

It really won’t cost you a thing, and it even comes with a full transcript that you can print out and follow along while you watch the video.

It’s a no-brainer – just go and watch it now:

X-Factor Facebook Video

If nothing else, you’ll get to know how to make friends with people from all over the world at the click of a button. And that could be very handy when you’re doing research for your new blog project.

I’ve watched it myself, and it’s really very straight forward and easy to understand. Let me know what you think.

Subscribing to others’ blogs is a great way to keep up with your interests, make new online friends, and learn new things. I’m subscribed to several, but hadn’t made the time (until today) to read through them.

As I peruse my feeds, I’ll let you know when I find some interesting articles.

There’s a wonderful list of resources, for any type of entrepreneur, over at Cath Lawson’s Tips for Success in Business & Life. I’ll be regularly checking her blog, since I seem to need lots of motivation to get my business(es) off the ground.

Stay tuned for more!

“I’m Barack Obama. I’m the President!” said my three-year-old daughter yesterday. Isn’t it wonderful that we can finally say that one day she actually could be president?

I was born in the early 70′s, and didn’t experience as much of the blatant racism my parents and others have, but I’ve seen my share.

My mother remembers traveling down south from Michigan when she was a teen, and having to eat unrefrigerated food because restaurants didn’t serve Blacks.

My grandmother, who looked white, was able to eat in a restaurant once, while her husband had to wait outside. I’m guessing he felt it more important that his wife be able to eat even if he couldn’t.

My mother also remembers not knowing the rules in the south, and having strangers (Black) pull her off the sidewalk when a white person approached. She and her sisters also had to use disgustingly dirty restrooms because, of course, they couldn’t use the white restrooms on their trip down south.

And for me, I remember being spit on by a white man when my parents pulled up next to his truck at a stoplight. That was in the 80s, in Michigan, when I was just a kid.

Just 2 years ago a stranger, a white man, asked me if my daughter’s father was Black too. When I told him Yes, he was so happy! He said something like, “Good! Too many people try to mix the races.” A complete stranger!

I say all this to say that I’m still in awe that this country will have a Black president in a very short time. It’s finally sinking in that this is real. That people were tortured and killed for this to happen. And amazed and humbled that my daughter will grow up in this (hopefully) new age.

I know that racism isn’t gone. Far from it. I live in a pretty racist town, which is part of the reason I believe I haven’t been able to find a decent job (along with this being a bad economy…it’s not all about race, I know). We still have work to do, and hopefully people won’t think this wipes the slate clean.

But for now I’m just so humbled and almost speechless at what his election has accomplished. I just wish Dr. King and others were here to witness this miracle. What a great time to be an American!

Wearing glasses runs in my family, so I’m sure it won’t be long before I need new ones, and before my daughter needs to start wearing them.

Unfortunately, buying glasses at the regular stores, even the so-called discount stores, isn’t always affordable. But luckily there are online bargains. I just found an online store with a lot of nice selections for frames. The store, called Zenni Optical, sells its own brand of stylish frames, and their prices are low, starting at only $8.00.

Besides regular eyeglasses, Zenni Optical also offers rimless frames, bifocals, goggles, and children’s frames. You can choose from Monel steel alloy, stainless steel, memory or pure titanium, plastic, aluminum, and memory aluminum frames. The lenses are made from a polycarbonate composite, with UV protection built-in, and you can add a tint or anti-glare coating for a little extra cost.

The site gives clear instructions about how to place an order correctly, and they seem upfront about their refund policy and guarantee. You have to provide your own prescription, obtained from a licensed eye doctor, of course.

Have you bought glasses online before? How did it work out for you? With the economy like it is, I’m definitely going to give it some serious thought.

One of the blogging trends I’d like to implement is treating my blog like a newspaper or magazine. Both have regular features, which helps keep the publication current, and helps the publisher think of what to write next.

I’ll be featuring websites or links that I find during my internet travels, and hopefully you’ll check them out and let us know what you think.

This week I found out about the Japanese American Citizens League. This non-profit civil rights organization is based out of Los Angeles, California, and began before World War II. I particularly like that the group honors a Woman of the Year, pays homage to its elders, and even offers a scholarships to at-risk youth.

The JACL is dedicated to promoting and preserving the values and culture of Japanese Americans, and they do so much for the community as a whole.

Even more impressive, the Downtown Los Angeles JACL fought for, and won, compensation for Japanese Americans that were wrongfully put in U.S. concentration camps during WWII. At the same time, tens of thousands of Japanese Americans volunteered their services as soldiers during the war. The JACL is hoping to get the U.S. Postal Service to honor these brave men with a commemorative stamp.

Take a look at the Downtown Los Angeles Japanese American Citizens League site to learn more. The history of this group of Americans is rich, and as I always say, you can never learn too much. My thanks to George for telling me about this amazing organization.

Stay tuned for next week’s website or link of the week. Please let us know what you enjoyed about this one.

Interested in some good reading about web hosting?

When looking for hosting for a new or even current blog, doing your homework also includes reading what others think. Not just what others think about your potential host, but also what people think of web hosting in general. There’s so much to learn, and I’m fan of research. That’s probably why I’m addicted to the Internet.

I just found a new blog with lots of web hosting articles.

From my understanding, the rest of the website isn’t launched yet, so don’t be turned off by the articles. There’s more to come, including tutorials and more specific web host information.

If you check out the site, let us know what you think about it.

Bloggers know that having a reliable hosting service is key to running a successful blog. Constant outages and limited domains are some of the worst issues you can run into.

I’ve been pretty satisfied with my current provider, but I’m always on the lookout for others. Shopping around just makes sense, and it might be a good idea to use more than one provider to protect against outages.

I found a new company called Concentric Business Solutions. They are a shared hosting provider that caters to small businesses (and if you’re a blogger with any monetization, you are a small business). Besides the usual suspects, including email, web hosting, and domain registration, they also offer free virus protection and spam filters.

If you’re in the market for a new provider, check out Concentric. They might be just what you need.

Is your blog a business? Would you like it to be?

If you answered “Yes” to either question, then you’ve probably heard about Yaro Starak’s Blog Mastermind program.

I haven’t joined it yet, but I did read his free Blog Profits Blueprint (chock full of lots of useful, practical information–a must read).

What is Blog Mastermind, and how does it work?

See for yourself. The Blog Mastermind program is focused on marketing. What I like most about Yaro’s style is that he’s not just writing to fill up space. He isn’t just saying, “Marketing is great. It’s important. You’ve really got to do it. Yep. Marketing. I love marketing.”

Yaro’s program actually gives an action plan, and includes specific steps to take (homework), gives real life examples, and even tells you what he doesn’t have much experience with.

I’ve bought an ebook or two that filled up pages with useless, obvious information that was clearly hypothetical. The free Blog Profits Blueprint is more than just theory and ideas.

If you’re serious about making good money from your blog, read the Blog Profits Blueprint. If it resonates with you, then the Blog Mastermind program may be just what you’re looking for too.

In my quest to make freelance writing work for my family, I joined a freelance writers’ group on Yahoo. It’s a great resource for anyone wanting support and advice for their commercial writing business.

One of the members, Danny Thompson, started a Yahoo Group to help freelance writers survive. It’s completely free, it has tons of resources in the Files section, and it sends you daily reminders for your business. He acknowledges that it may not fit your particular situation perfectly, but there are definitely gems for any business owner.

Check out Danny’s free group, Freelance Survival Training. You won’t be disappointed. Remember to check out the Files section too.

I can dream, can’t I?

A vacation would be wonderful, especially since the last time I went anywhere just for the fun of it was the Bahamas, and I won’t tell you how long ago that was (or how short my visit was). It was beautiful, though. The beach was amazing, with sand that was so white, and with ocean water that was so clear and blue. I’d love to go back one day.

Because I lived in Detroit, I often visited Canada. And thanks to Anne of Green Gables (one of my favorite non-fantasy/sci-fi book series), I’ve always wanted to go to Prince Edward Islands. One day I’ll have to check out the rates for flights to Canada from Arizona.

I just found out about a company called DialAFlight where you talk with someone over the phone to book your next vacation or holiday. If I’m ever in the market, I’ll definitely see how they compare to other travel agencies. It never hurts to shop around.

When was your last vacation? Where did you go?